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Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.

Prayer for Purity of Worship

Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires are known, and from whom no secrets are hidden: Cleanse the thoughts of my heart by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that I may perfectly love you and worthily praise your holy name. Through Christ I pray,

A General Intercession

O  Lord Jesus Christ our God, who in your mercy and all-loving kindness regards the prayers of all who call upon you with their whole heart, incline your ear and hear my prayer, now humbly offered unto you:

Be mindful, O Lord, of the church of all who believe and confess the name of Jesus Christ; confirm and strengthen it, increase it and keep it in peace, and preserve it unconquerable forever. Be mindful, O Lord, of all priests, ministers, pastors, deacons, bishops, and others known by whatever title, who work as Christian leaders, for you have established them to feed the flock of the Word. And by their prayers, have mercy upon me and save me, a sinner.

Be mindful, O Lord, of all civil authorities, of our Armed Forces, of this city in which I dwell, and of every city and land; grant us peaceful times, that we may lead a calm and tranquil life in all godliness and sanctity.

Be mindful, O Lord, of my parents, my brothers and sisters, my relatives and friends, and all who are near and dear to me, (name those who you wish to remember), and grant them mercy, life, peace, health, salvation and visitation, and pardon and remission of sins; that they may evermore praise and glorify your holy Name.

Be mindful, O Lord, of those who travel by land, and sea, and air; of the young and the old; orphans and widows; the sick and the suffering; the sorrowing and the afflicted, all captives, and the needy poor; upon them all send forth your mercies, for you are the Giver of all good things.

Be mindful, O Lord, of me, your humble servant; grant me your grace, that I may be diligent and faithful; that I may avoid evil company and influence, and resist all temptation; that I may lead a godly and righteous life, blameless and peaceful, ever serving you, that I may be accounted worthy at the last to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Be mindful, O Lord, of all those who have fallen asleep in the hope of resurrection unto life eternal, especially (name those you wish to remember); pardon all their transgressions both voluntary and involuntary, whether in word, or deed, or thought. Shelter them in a place of verdure, a place of repose, whence all sickness, sorrow and sighing have fled away, and where the sight of your countenance rejoices all your Saints from all the ages. Grant them your heavenly Kingdom, and a portion in your ineffable and eternal blessings, and the enjoyment of your unending Life.

Hear my prayer, O Lord, for you are merciful and compassionate, and love mankind, and to you are due all glory, honor, and worship: to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: now and ever, and unto ages of ages.

Benediction

If you are with me, O God, who can be against me? For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus my Lord.

Think of the day ahead in terms of God with you, and visualize health, strength, guidance, purity, calm confidence, and victory as the gifts of His presence.

Proverbs 2:20-22

John 6:30-40 (NIV)

The Bread of Life (2)

So they asked him, "What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"

Jesus said to them, "Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."

"Sir," they said, "always give us this bread."

Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.

For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day."

Notes on the Scripture

When feeding the multitude of 5,000, Jesus hinted at a parallel to the feeding of the Hebrews in the desert by gathering 12 baskets of scraps. Here he makes the parallel explicit. Also, as he made the comparison between the water from a well and the "living water" for the Samaritan woman at the well, here he makes the same sort of comparison with bread.

When the Hebrews wandered in the desert for 40 years after escaping Egypt, God fed them with manna. This was bread, in the broadest sense of the food we must have every day to sustain life (e.g. "give us this day our daily bread").

But now, with the coming of Christ, God has sent a second kind of bread from heaven; that bread is the body of Christ and the grace that is thereby available to us. Our souls need the "bread" of Christ's bread to live just as our bodies need food to live. Only the bread that is Christ's grace is endless and brings eternal life.

This passage contains one of the most comforting messages in the Bible. Jesus tells us that those who the Father has given to Him will come to Him, and whoever comes to Him "I will never drive away". That's a very powerful message. Most all of us have lost something we had thought was permanent; a relationship, a job, a school, etc. If we have not, we have all felt and suffered insecurity.

But here is God Himself, in person, telling us that once we come to Him, He will never drive us away. He is our permanent refuge that will never fail us, will never change his mind. We have a home that will always be there, a God of incredible power who will be with us as long as we want.

Yes, our bodies will get old; we will get sick, our bodies will die. The forces of evil will do their best to destroy us on earth and may bring many terrible things down upon us, even the very best of us. But we are completely secure, because we know that perfect peace and forgiveness await us at the end of the ordeal.

God know how hard this can be. He suffered as terribly as a person can suffer, hanging on a cross in the cruel sun for three days of torture, hated and abandoned by the rulers of Israel; He know exactly what we go through in times of pain. And He did it for one and only one reason: because He loves us so much, he wanted to assure us that eternal life is a reality and awaits us at the end of our lives.

The Resurrection: The angels rolling away the stone from the sepulchre by William Blake, ca. 1805

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